Assassin's Creed: Fate in his hands
by Lysella Abelina
Summary: When Altaïr has to do a job in Damascus, he finds a girl being tortured by the guards. After having saved her, he brings her to the Bureau and takes her fate in his hands by this. The title is only a working title which may be changed later.
1. Prologue: The rescue

Disclaimer: I do not own Altaïr or any of the original AC characters, same goes to the original story as well. I do not make money by writing this.

I started this story some time ago and think it is now time to post it here. Please read and tell me your oppinion in a constructive way (constructive criticism please).

I thought about Altaïr's private life since I cannot imagine that he never met someone he liked. At least he must have had a woman once if Desmond was his descendent. This story is my opinion how it could have been.

thanks,

Lysella Abelina

PS: Thanks to my first two reviewers. :)

Sera22: Thanks for the advice. I totally forgot about that but knew it deep within my head. Just didn't think of it while writing -.- I changed it now so it is no longer "Rafik said" but "the Rafik said". I hope that's okay for you. If not I have to admit that I don't know his name and would be more than happy to know it so I can fix this.

* * *

It was a hot and sticky day in the city of Damascus, when a white hooded figure jumped across the roofs of the city's houses, unseen by the people and the guards, searching for injustice.

He heard it, the screaming of the guards torturing someone innocent.

"You dirty thief!"

"I'll have your hand for this!"

Usually he also heard the victim's crying, but not this time. Was it already too late? He paced up and ran, climbed, jumped to where he thought the guards to be. Reaching the roof's end, he looked down on the scene before him. A young woman was circled by four guards who tossed her around and punched her with armor-clad fists. This was what he had been searching for! At the moment, he wasn't on his actual mission but just looking if he could train a bit before the assassination and help some innocents at the same time. It would simply make it easier if he decimated the guards before the assassination a bit, as well.

The woman already had some serious bruises from the punching and some more which were probably from previous attacks of the guards and/or others. One of the guards kicked against her right leg now and she sank to the ground without a sound.

'Shit!' he thought and decided to act. Scanning the area and adjusting the angle, he jumped down, his hidden blade outside its sheath, aiming at the guard's neck, who had kicked the woman's leg and most likely broke it with that. It worked. The guard made a few more disgusting sounds and lay still then. The others left the woman or more girl as he could see it now, and drew their blades to attack him.

'Four of you?' he asked them in his mind, 'You must be joking. You're no match for me!' And he drew his sword.

Short after all five guards lay down on the ground - dead. He was done again and about to leave, when something held him back. Something was holding his coat. He turned around to see the girl grabbing it with a small fist. She looked at him with clouded eyes and mouthed, what he thought, "thank you" before passing out.

He was shocked. What should he do? Leave her like this so she would probably die or taking her to a safe place? He decided to firstly move her out of the street were everyone could see her and, more important, him. He picked her up and moved to a near dark alley. Looking around and deciding that they would be safe there for a few moments, she placed her down once more to look at her. She was young, more a girl than a woman, and small. When he's picked her up moments before, he had thought, that she felt like a feather, without any weight. She was probably nearly starved. Her face was sunburned, although she was wearing the veil on her hair, women had to wear outside in the streets. But more important, her face gave away that she was in pain, emphasized by the look of the rest of her body – ripped clothing and serious looking injuries beneath them. She wasn't going to live through the night with these. Still, what should he do? Take her to a hospital? Impossible. They would more likely send her away than take care of her. No one cared for a dirty girl, which was probably 'just' a beggar. Additionally they could see him and this was not allowed to happen. But just placing her in front of it would cause his first thoughts and she would die anyway. Wasn't it his duty to save the innocents? Wasn't just letting her die alone just like killing her with his blade? Well, he could finish her right away to save her from further pain, but still this would be against the creed and he had been acting against it for too many times up to this moment, already.

"What happened here?!" He already heard the guards in the street shouting. He had no time to think long about his actions. Sealing his very fate in this instant, he took the girl from the ground and secured her to his back, as good as he could. There was a ladder up to the roof next to him. He took it and climbed, as fast as he could, to the roof. Scanning his surroundings and making out the direction, in which he had to go for the Assassins' Bureau, he started running. He took a safe passage, avoiding roofs, where he had seen archers earlier and only doing smaller jumps to secure, that the girl wasn't falling down. One time he had to throw a knife at an archer, who was standing in the only way, he could take with the girl on his back, but besides this they made it to the Bureau without incidents.

The wooden roof was always open if the assassins came there unseen by guards. He got to the edges of the roof and carefully lowered himself and his human backpack down into the Bureau. Down there, he untied her from his back and picked her up so he could carry her in his arms. He went into the next room, the actual bureau. Damascus' bureau's leader, the Rafik, was already there, waiting for him.

"Greetings, my brother!" the Rafik stopped, "What have you done?"

"I saved this girl from the guards. They would have killed her," was his only reply.

"Yes, but… Why did you bring her here? You know, you're putting the Brotherhood in danger with this!"

"She would have died out there. It's her only chance. Leaving her in the street in this state would have been like letting the guards kill her. It was the only possibility I had!" he defended himself. The Rafik sighed and thought for a moment.

"We cannot let her die. I swore to protect the innocents…" he reminded the Bureau's leader.

"This is the wrong moment to stick to the Creed this strong," the Rafik said with anger in his voice, "Just let me think for a moment, will you?" He walked up and down for a few moments and eventually stopped. "How bad are her injuries?"

"Very bad. From what I've see, she won't make it through the night without help."

The Rafik sighed again and took a sheet of parchment. He wrote down a few lines and turned towards a bird cage then. Taking out one of the birds and securing the parchment on its feet, he went to the open roof and sent the bird away.

"I've sent message to Ahab. He has the best medical knowledge within Damascus from us. He will be here soon. Follow me, I will show you, where you can place her as long as we wait for Ahab." He followed the Rafik to another room. There he found a bed where he laid the girl. The Rafik brought a bowl with water and a piece of clothing. He dipped it into the water and laid it on the girl's forehead. She was burning.

"Fever…" he stated, "Her injuries must be infectious. Ahab has to hurry."

The Rafik went back into the main room. They were alone now, the girl and her saviour. When she made a small sound of pain, he was at her side. Looking into her face he could see that her eyes are about to flutter open but her body was too weak. Yes, Ahab had to hurry.

--

Short after, someone entered the Bureau, he could hear voices from the main room and fast steps towards the bedroom. Then Ahab stepped inside. He took a look at the scene.

"Is this the girl?" Ahab asked, seeming a bit breathless. He really must have hurried to come here.

"Yes," her savior only said. Ahab stepped towards the bed and scanned her for a moment. Then he started to speak, "I need water and clean sheets, a lot of it. Do you know if she only has injuries outside or also inside?" he asked while the Rafik went to gather the needed things.

"I saw one of the guards kick her leg and he fell down after. It is probably broken. Before I came here, she passed out but tried to wake up after the Rafik went to wait for you. She didn't manage and passed out again."

"Hm… I will take a look at her first," Ahab said and put down his backpack. He opened it and took out a leather package. He took a knife out of it and started to slice the girl's clothing with it. The Rafik came with the water and the sheets.

"Thank you," Ahab said while working, "you two should leave now. I will tell you, if I need your help."

They went out of the room.

"This will have its consequences," the Rafik started, "Al Mualim won't be pleased with this, you know that."

"Yes, I do," he looked down. He knew it the moment he had saved her. Why did he have to act to stupid? He knew this would happen! But somehow… The way she had looked at him when she grabbed his coat. It had made it impossible to leave her. Her eyes… Her painful face and the whispered words… "Thank you" she'd said with her last strength. Of course the people always thanked him but this had been somehow special. Like something in the image of her, falling down on the street, had stabbed him without killing him, caught him and not wanting to release him until she was safe.

Since nothing was making any sense at the moment, he decided to wait until Ahab was done with taking care of her injuries. He could worry about things later, when he had to go back to Masyaf to tell the Master about the girl for example. Yes, this would be worth worrying about, indeed.


	2. The girl

Disclaimer: I do not own Altaïr or any of the original AC characters, same goes to the original story as well. I do not make money by writing this.

So here comes the next chapter! Thank you very much for the reviews. I didn't expect them so soon after my posting. As I said I changed this Rafik-thing and I hope it is okay for you now. If anyone knows the name of Damascus' Bureau leader I would be happy to know. :)

This chapter is also a bit longer than the first. The problem with chapter lengths is always that they are never the same "size". When I write, I actually don't think about chapter lengths... So the story breaks are not always the way that it is easy to start and end a chapter. After all I am no professional author...

If you find some typing mistakes, please forgive me. I read it all about 5 times now and I still do not see some of them sometimes. Additionally Word only shows where words are typed wrong and not when you simply missed the "i" key and made an "o", so "if" turns out to be "of" then and is still wrong although if Word didn't tell you...

Enough chatting!

Enjoy reading and leave me some comments please :) (don't forget, contructive criticism, thank you)

greetings,

Lysella Abelina

* * *

Low unfamiliar voices, that was what she recognized first. And the bed she was probably lying in was way too comfortable compared to what she was used to.

'Oh no!' the thoughts started to finally made it through her brain, 'I must have died and this is heaven now. Well, no. I never believed in heaven so this must be some place comparable to hell. Wait – I never believed in hell as well… And, this bed is too comfortable for a hell…'

'What about opening our eyes and taking a look?' asked a small voice, the voice of curiosity, in her head.

'No! As long as we keep them shut, we don't have to face things we maybe not want to face!' this was the voice of caution.

'As long as we cannot see, we cannot react,' her inner voice of rationality finally said and decided what to do with this. She opened her eyes a bit.

She couldn't see anything. The darkness was pressing against her eyes; she couldn't even open them totally. Taking everything she had, she tried to move her hand to at least feel what was around her. But her hands felt heavy as well. She couldn't even move her fingers! After struggling a bit more in her state of not being able to move she heard someone's steps and suddenly everything was illuminated. The darkness from her eyes had vanished and she could see that she was lying in a small room with a small window. Next to the bed there was a small table with a bowl and a piece of clothing - this was the reason for her not being able to see anything. Someone had removed it and was now standing next to the bed.

It was a man in white clothing. 'A monk?' she asked herself. Probably not since monks didn't wear knives at their belts. She looked into his face and saw concern.

"Can you hear me?" he asked her in a low voice. Well, at least she thought that since no one else was in the room besides him and her. She nodded slightly and tried to sit up.

"Oh no! Don't move!" he urged her down on the bed again, "You have some very serious injuries and it would be better if you didn't move at all for a while." She looked puzzled. Injuries? Then she wasn't dead yet but had died _nearly_. You didn't wake up with injuries in heaven or hell, did you?

The man must have recognized her confusion and spoke again, "Your right leg is broken and you also have some bruises and infectious wounds. I cleaned the wounds and applied dressings to them."

"How… long," she swallowed, "have… I been… here?" She asked hoarsely. Her mouth felt dry like the desert. She coughed. The strange man turned around and when he came back he had a cup in his hand. Lifting her head up with one hand and holding the cup with the other, he helped her to drink.

"You've been brought here about three days ago. Ever since that, you had been asleep," he placed the cup on the little table, "Your wounds weakened your body and you ran a fever. Honestly, I wasn't sure if you would wake up again at all." She nodded again, thinking about what he had said to her. Something had happened and she didn't remember what. Hopefully… she looked down her body with a shocked expression.

He caught it and replied to her unspoken question, "No, it didn't look like you had been raped. But I wasn't the one who brought you here. I will get you your saviour later on. You should sleep a bit 

more now. You're still weak from the fever. We can go on talking when you are awake again. Agreed?" Nodding on her side again.

She hadn't noticed how tired she actually was. Although she had been sleeping for three days it wasn't the kind of sleep which gave you new energy. She thankfully fell asleep again – a relaxing and regenerative this time.

--

Again unfamiliar voices when she was about to awake. Only this time they were nearer then before and not totally unfamiliar – one she recognized as the man she had spoken to earlier. As sleep was slowly fading away, she more and more felt her body, felt the injuries and the pain coming from them. Still slowly but this time without the hesitation she had had the last time, she opened her eyes.

She was still in the same room. It was darker now. It must have become night while she had been sleeping. Some candles had been placed around in the room. And she wasn't alone – two men this time were with her, looking down on her awaking figure. Recognizing the one she had talked to earlier, she tried to make herself known.

"You're awake again," the one, she knew, said. He seemed more relieved than the last time she had been awake. Then he said something to the other man that stood behind him in a dark corner. She hadn't even been sure that he was really there. Although she did feel that they weren't alone and had heard his voice before. Having finished his talk he turned to her again, "I have to leave for a bit but don't worry. He," he gestured towards the man in the corner, "will look after you." And with a serious tone he added, "Please, don't ignore it but tell him, if you feel, that your state is going worse. Can you promise me this?" She nodded, as if she wouldn't be able to do anything else again forever.

"Thank you," his expression seemed to soften and he gave her an encouraging look. Then he turned to the doorway and disappeared.

Becoming aware again that she wasn't alone she turned her gaze to the other man. He looked a bit different, that she could tell from her point of view. He was wearing a white coat and a white hood on his head which put his face into shadow. Around his waist was a huge leather belt holding several weapons – a long sword and some knives. His arms were before his chest but she could see that his forearms were clad in leather and iron. Down the front of his belt hang a blood red band reaching the half way down to the edge of his coat or more robe, as she thought about it now. And he apparently looked at her the whole time.

After staring at each other for, what seemed hours to her, she eventually decided to do something. She opened her mouth to speak. He shifted lightly.

"W-Water… p-please," she managed to whisper. He moved and grabbed a cup, with long elegant strides he came to the bed. Probably knowing that she wasn't able to move, he held her head up with one hand and helped her drink. He was careful, that she had to admit. After each of her nips he waited until she had swallowed and only then gave her more water. Finally she made a sound and he stopped, placing the cup back on the table again. Then there was silence again and he moved back to his corner.

She couldn't take it. If they were again staring at each other like before she would go crazy. So she tried something she wasn't supposed to. She tried to sit up.

He was there at an instant, gently pressing her back on the bed.

"You shouldn't move," he said in a low but gentle and deep voice. Since he was closer now, she tried to look into his face and actually saw a bit of his features. His face was – concerned. Just as the other man's one. He had dark eyes which looked into hers and a faint trace stubbles around his mouth and on his cheeks. More she couldn't see but still his face made her sad. She didn't know why but somehow everything seemed to crash down on her in this moment. She didn't know where she was nor who these men were. She couldn't remember what happened that she had ended in this small room with having slept for three probably now four days. Tears appeared in her eyes and she finally couldn't hold it back anymore. They streamed down her cheeks. The strange man simply sat down next to the bed and waited for her stop crying. Eventually she got hold on herself again.

"I hope," he began, "it wasn't me bringing up your tears." She was confused. Why would someone care why she cried.

"N-No… It was just…" she took a deep breath, well, at least she tried, "Where am I? And… And who are you? And… Why am I here?"

"You cannot remember anything before you've been waking up here?" he asked. She shook her head.

"All I know is me leaving my last sleeping place," she blushed a bit and felt silent, thinking of her 'sleeping place' at the doorstep of a house.

"I cannot tell you everything that happened since I had arrived only moments before you passed out"

"I passed out? Why?" she interrupted him.

"Some guards," he spit out the word like it was something disgusting, "had been torturing you. When I came to the place, they already had tossed you around and punched you for quiet a time I suppose. I only reacted short after one kicked your leg broken and you sank to the ground."

"Was this when I passed out? And why am I here and not dead then?" It all became only more confusing to her.

"You are here," he stopped and looked down. In a very low voice he continued, "Because I brought you here."

"You? But… How? I mean… the guards?"

"Are dead," was his only reply. She looked stunned, her eyes flickering to his weapons and she finally understood.

"You're saved me," she whispered. He nodded slightly, waiting for her to go on. To fully understand.

"No, it can't be… You… I mean _they _are only a myth. An idea created by the poor and suppressed ones. People who had to stand torture and injustice. You can't be an," she swallowed hard, "An assassin" She looked at him with questioning eyes. He could hear him chuckle softly.

"So this is how we are seen among the poor people… Like great saviours?" he shook his head in disbelieve.

"So it is true?" He nodded once and looked at her again, probably waiting for he to scream and cry and beg for her life. "Amazing…" was all she managed. Then something else came into her mind and she staggered in her thoughts. "But if you are… why am I _here_? Isn't nobody supposed to know you?"

"As I said, you are here because I brought you here. And it is not that we are totally unknown, no… If we were it would make it much easier…" he looked around the room absently, "The ones in power know and they fear us, which is just right…"

"Are you," her voice became nearly to low to understand, "going to _kill_ me because I know?"

He opened his mouth to say something but stopped short after. "Actually I cannot tell you what will happen," he admitted, "It is no longer in my hands. It was when I decided to save you and bring you here but now…"

"Then why _did_ you bring me here?" tears were building in her eyes but she tried to ignore them.

"I had to… You would have died if I had left you there…"

"But what if I'm going to die anyway now?" she couldn't hold herself back anymore.

"It would be a more merciful death if I killed you now then…" he quietly said.

"Merciful?" she couldn't believe what he was saying, "All my life I've been struggling _not_ to die somewhere, with no one caring if I did, and you tell me it would be _merciful_?"

"I cannot kill you anyway… Not now… You're an innocent. It would be against our rules…"

"You have rules?" everything was swirling around her. First he told her that he hadn't been allowed to bring her here, then he said that it would be merciful to kill her and then he was taking about rules?

"'Stay your blade away from the flesh of an innocent'… That's the first rule. The first part of our creed" Then everything went silent again. She was fighting with her tears and her thoughts of dying and he just sat there, saying and doing nothing.

"I couldn't even thank you… I don't even know your name…" she whispered. She could hear him shift and then she saw his hand moving to her face with a piece of clothing in it. He reached for her face and softly wiped away her tears.

"Altaïr…" he simply said. "Huh?" she didn't know what he was saying.

"That's my name… Altaïr ibn La-Ahad…" he repeated. She closed her eyes and said, "That's an interesting name… It sounds nice indeed…"

"Thank you. And how are you called?"

"I-I?" she asked disbelieving. No one had ever asked her for her name before. "My name is Menari… But I'm afraid it is not as impressive and interesting as yours… Beggars usually have no great names…"

"It's beautiful," was all he responded, "And by the way, you did thank me. Right before you passed out and I decided to bring you here." She smiled lightly.

"So I did keep my good manners… At least one good thing." She sighed again, "One good thing before I die…" It hurt to say the words out loud but if it was this way, she would, at least, be prepared. 'Oh, come one… you cannot cry the whole time,' she told herself but it didn't help as the tears spread down her face again. "I'm sorry…" she whispered.

He was silent and waited again for her tears to stop. At one point she was indeed right. The possibility that she was going to be killed was there. Everyone who did know, that they existed was either dead now or a member of the Brotherhood.

Her tears had stopped, probably because she was running out of them. The room was silent, she could only hear her own breathing. The silence felt awkward. She looked around the room again, Altaïr was still sitting there and staring at something at the blanket. She couldn't stand the silence but didn't know what to say when he surprised her by beginning to speak.

"Would you mind, if I asked you a question?"

That really surprised her. Not just, that he had started to speak but also that he asked if he could ask her a question.

"S-Sure…" she stammered, "go on. You don't have to ask if you want to ask me something."

"Well, it could be a bit difficult to answer since you said you didn't remember anything. But I wanted to know why you didn't scream for help when the guards did attack you?"

"Oh," she thought for a moment. Then she went on, "I didn't?" He shook his head. "Hm…" thinking again, "Well, probably because it would have been useless. Who would help a beggar? People call us thieves, liars, scum… For them we will never be more then the dirt on their streets."

"But you said that some of you believed," he struggled, probably because he didn't know how to say it, "in the 'Myth of the Assassins'?"

She chuckled silently. "It is easy to believe in things when there is no hope for you, no hope for your life. And believing doesn't make the world better. It only helps you in times when there is nothing more to hold on…" her words sounded bitter, "We have nothing to hold on, we are only figures in the great game of others – the people in power." She looked straight into his eyes. "But there is an exception to every rule, it seems. I still cannot believe that I'm alive. Well, at least for a bit longer as I would have been. That this one special thing happened to me – someone actually cared for me and what would happen to me if he didn't. That someone risked his life for me because of this." While saying this she blushed a bit. He was silent, totally, and sitting just beside the bed again.

"Okay, I see that you don't want to say anything to this. You probably would want to tell me that it wasn't like I think," she sighed, "That's fine. At least you're not trying to ruin this moment for me, thank you…" She could see that he shook his head at her words and on his lips was a faint trace of a smile. Was he laughing at her? "Hey! What are you laughing at?!" she asked a bit angry.

"I'm not laughing at you, honestly," he apparently tried to convince her.

"Then why do you laugh?"

"I was thinking."

"About?" she grew impatient.

"About… Well, that I've never met someone who thought so little of himself."

She looked away. She wasn't thinking little of herself. It _was_ like this in the world outside. He seemed to be able to read her thoughts since the next thing he said was, "Not everyone is thinking that way. To me you are actually all the same - all innocents, besides the guards and… never mind." He had abruptly stopped himself. Then he just said, "Sorry"

"For what?" she asked softly.

"For confusing you." She opened her mouth to say something but closed it again. "See?" he said.

"Wait a moment," he really had confused her. Still not with his previous actions but with saying that he was confusing her. She tried to get her thoughts together again, "Could it be that you are actually telling me things I shouldn't know?" He sighed but spoke then, "I am. But I don't know why I am doing this. For this I beg your pardon as well. It would probably make it easier if you wouldn't know too much. Since if you do…"

"It will reduce my chance to stay alive, won't it?" she completed. He nodded.

"How are you feeling?" he suddenly asked.

"I'm… fine, I suppose. Why?" he had surprised her with this.

"Because we've already talked for some hours, I assume. I don't want to overexert you. Ahab would probably kill me if I'd destroy his 'masterpiece' of healing you."

"Ahab? Is this his name? The other man, I mean," she asked curious.

"Yes. Anyway, you should give it a rest now," he decided for her, "Sleep well, Menari." Then he left the room and she quickly fell asleep.


	3. The escape

as well. I do not make money by writing this.

Hello everyone reading my story!

So this is my third chapter. I decided to upload it since my writing went well the last time. I already had the third chapter done for a while but wanted to wait until I had written some more pages. Just in case I decided to change a few things. Additionally I always read the chapters 5 times or so to find mistakes. Unfortunatelly my fingers seem too fast for my keyboard since I often do typos. Please excuse them. I often just don't see them although I'm reading my chapters again and again to find them.

thanks for reading,

Lysella Abelina :)

PS: As always I again found some mistakes while reading the chapter again. The thing is that I was sure - 1000 sure - that I had corrected all mistakes before. And then I read it here on and BAM! the mistakes are back... Mistyrious... totally o.o

However, I corrected them now and I HOPE I found all. Sometimes also puts breaks in the middle of a line where I definitelly didn't out one... I will do further research on this. It seems I have to! o.o

greetings!

* * *

The following day – Menari decided it to be the next day since the sun was lighting up the little room again and she had been sleeping – she woke up and was alone for the very first time since her arrival. Her surroundings hadn't changed much. On the chair by her bed laid some bandages and on the little table she could see a bottle and the cup she had been imbued with for the last days. Looking at the cup she decided that she was thirsty and tried to move herself.

It was impossible. Ahab, as Altaïr had been calling him, had done a very good job in 'tying' her to the bed. 'Great,' she thought, 'And how am I supposed to get something to drink now?' She thought about her options. She could crawl out of the bed… Not a good idea, she had to admitt. And she was barely able to move anything but her head. So this was out. Waiting if someone would come to look after her? Possible. Although it could take hours and until then she would probably die of thirst. What use would all the work have been for then? How did he call it the last night? Ahab's masterpiece. She had to laugh at this. So this left only one option open – calling for someone. Although she really didn't like this. After all she was very shy – something that came with being a beggar. Taking every little ounce of courage she had, she called, "Hello?"

'Okay little one,' her voice of rationality said irritated, 'This wasn't one of your best calls. Perhaps we could try it louder this time?'

"Excuse me? I'm truly sorry to disturb you but…" She didn't have to say more. Ahab was already in the doorway.

"Ah, you're awake. Please forgive me, we had a talk and I had to leave the room for a bit. How do you feel today?" Again someone who was asking for her forgiveness. Those men really began to make her worry.

"You… don't have to excuse yourself," she said shyly.

"I have to. You are not able to move and shouldn't be left alone like this," he smiled lightly, "How are you?" he asked again.

"Well, I… would like to drink a bit?" she asked. But thinking of water brought something else to her mind. She hadn't relieved herself for days and her bladder was making this more than clear to her now. She blushed and tried to speak again, "Uhm… Could we forget about the water and… well…"

He frowned at first but seemed to understand then. And he laughed. 'Why is everybody laughing at me lately?' she thought and looked puzzled. Ahab got her expression and finally began to speak. "I will help you," he stated. Her eyes widened. He would… help her… relieving herself? Oh.

"Don't be afraid, I won't do anything inappropriate," he tried to calm her as her eyes were wide with shock and her face red with embarrassment.

Later she lay in the bed again with Ahab sitting next to her. He was cleaning some wounds and renewing the bandages.

"That's excellent," he said while applying the last dressing, "You are healing very well. Though your broken leg will take a bit more time, the rest of your bruises are nearly fully healed." Menari could see that this was actually lightening up his face. Nevertheless she felt sad at the thought of her health being nearly fully restored again. Ahab must have seen her sad expression.

"Menari, what's the matter?" he asked worried, "Aren't you happy that you survived?"

"I… I don't know…" she answered sadly, "What will happen to me as soon as I am healed?"

His face became understanding. "You're worried if you are going to die because you possibly know too much, aren't you?" She nodded and whispered, "I know that I know too much…"

Ahab looked into her eyes, they were filled with tears. "Everything is still up in the air. Until now nothing has actually been decided concerning you. Well, that's not completely true, one things has been decided," he added carefully. She gasped.

"No," he said with a smile again, "Not what you think. We got only got a letter from home that the Master wants to meet you, as soon as you are able to travel." She relaxed a bit. "And when will this be?"

"We have to wait a bit more. But while we do, you could try something else," he said while standing up. She looked puzzled.

"I could try…? What are you aiming at?" she asked as she looked suspiciously into his now smiling face. He made a step forward to her and gave her an encouraging look.

"Try to move," he simply said. Try to move? How was he thinking her to manage that? With all the bandages tightly wrapped around her… She slowly shook her head. He sighed, "Just try it and trust me, will you?" 'Okay,' she thought, 'but don't say I haven't warned you before.'

She tried to move her arms to push herself up a bit and actually she could move them… But failed to push herself up. Ahab was there, grabbing her shoulders carefully and pulling her into a sitting position. Then he turned her around so the wall would support her back. Finally she sat and looked more than happy. "Thank you, Ahab!" she said and looked around curiously, "The whole room seems different from a sitting position."

He smiled again. "What do you want to do now?" he asked. "Hm," she made a thinking sound and spoke then, "I would like to talk a bit, if that is okay?" He nodded in agreement. "And you have nothing else to do?" she asked disbelieving, "Like… Running around and killing some people?" Ahab gave her a dispraising look. "I'm sorry," she said sheepishly, "I didn't… Please excuse my inappropriate behaviour." She looked down on her hands in her lap.

"Excuse accepted," he finally said. "Thank you," was her whispered answer. "May I ask a question?" she started and looked shyly in his direction, "I promise you won't have to answer if you don't want to." He nodded. "Okay, you said we have to wait a bit more. For what do we have to wait?" He seemed to think for a moment and already had his mouth open to answer, when they both heard a growing noise from outside the walls. Menari gave Ahab a confused and questioning look and he just said, "City alert" Her eyes went wide. City alert? Why?

A few moments later she could hear footsteps in the other room and low voices. But all she understood was, "… dead… his blood…" from one voice and "… return… will be pleased…" from another. Then Ahab stood up, "Excuse me for a moment, will you?" he just said and went into the other room.

--

"We have to talk, Altaïr," Ahab said when he came out of the girl's room. Probably he wanted to talk about him and her leaving the city soon.

"What's the matter?" he asked calmly. The adrenalin was still in his blood but fading away a bit now so he could calm himself.

"It is about the leaving of you and her," Ahab gestured to the other room with his head, "Her state is allowing it and you have to leave the city soon as well." Altaïr nodded.

"You maybe have to use her to cover yourself," the Rafik said, "It could be both with her – easier and more difficult."

"If I used her as a cover, she would have to know the plan. At least parts of it," Altaïr added. The other two nodded in agreement. "But first we have to have a plan."

"She could be your sister. And you two are on your way to your home village," was Ahab's suggestion.

"And how do I explain her injuries?" Altaïr interrupted, "It is not like one gets injuries like she has them just outside on the street." He paused and then started to talk again, "Well, at least it shouldn't be like that. And I'm afraid telling the guards that she was injured by some other guards just isn't such a good idea." All three were silent, thinking about what to do.

"Maybe it won't be such a problem," the Rafik slowly started, "After all, she is a woman and has to… cover herself in the streets. Her body can be covered without causing a sensation and a broken leg is no rare injury and that would also explain why she cannot walk. You will have her to sit on the horse and later have her sit in front of you on your ride to Masyaf."

Altaïr was still silent. He actually didn't like the idea of using such a cover to get out of the city. Usually he just hid within the crowd. But this wouldn't be possible this time. "When," he simply asked.

"As soon as possible," the Rafik went on, "The guards will be suspicious, you have to be careful. Nevertheless if you stay here longer you will endanger the Brotherhood. After all this is just a house in Damascus and not a guarantee to never be found."

"Give her a day or two more and she may be able to move a bit without too much help – be able to sit still on a horse to be precise," Ahab added. The other two nodded and the Rafik decided to prepare everything. "Calm down a bit, Altaïr, and take a rest."

--

The next days passed without special events and Menari started to get worried. After Ahab's leaving two days before they did not tell her anything about what had happened. They – all three of them – had avoided to be alone with her for a longer time. Like they didn't want to give her a chance to ask questions. Not that they had been wrong about that since she was nearly going to burst because of her current ignorance.

On the third day of the men avoiding her, this should change. She had been sitting most of the day but Ahab had helped her to move her body a bit and sit without the wall. "You're doing very well. I was afraid that you would take longer to get into this state." Nothing more. The small window in the room showed her that is had to have become night outside when Altaïr entered the room and sat down on the chair next to her bed.

"How are you feeling," he asked politely.

"I-I'm fine… I think," she shyly responded.

He took a quick glance at her face, saw her unease and her concern, and went on. "That's good to hear," he stated and took a break again. When she was about to open her mouth and say something he started again, "I've come to talk to you. To tell you a few things you have to know."

She immediately closed her mouth again and gave him a confused look. "We will be leaving tomorrow morning. The Rafik prepared everything and I just wanted to tell you what you had to do."

"Uhm… okay. And… what do I have to do?" She didn't know what else to say. Actually she hadn't thought of leaving at all.

"We will be travelling as siblings to get out of the city. Our reason to leave is that we want to get back to our home village. You've broken your leg while going down a ladder at our hostel here. The rest of your body will be no problem to cover.

Since the city alert is not too long ago we need a cover to fool the guards at the city gates. You will be on a horse's back and I will be walking beside you. Nothing will happen. As soon as we get out we will take the fastest way to our village," he explained. He had tried to make it as short and clear as possible. Now he looked at her face to check if she had understood everything.

Menari war confused why they made such an effort to get her out of the city without causing a sensation. They could let her die just by handing her over to the guards. But then she thought of what Altaïr had said some time before. It was no longer in his hands whether she lived or not. Their master had to decide it and he was probably bringing her to him. Additionally she had recognized that this was already final. He had just come to tell her and not to ask for her permission.

"You should sleep now. You will need all your strength tomorrow," he said while rising. Something came into her mind then. "Wait, don't we need something like new names? I mean if they ask us…"

He smiled a bit. "Well, if it is absolutely necessary for you then pick us some names."

"Hm… Well, I always wanted to be a Fatima and you could be a… an Omar. What do you think?"

"Perfect common names, you did a good choice," he stated, "But now rest. Ahab will wake you tomorrow and get you ready… Sleep well…"

"Thank you, you… too."

--

Of course she couldn't sleep well. At first she wasn't able to fall asleep and then when she finally did it was an uneasy sleep. She saw strange pictures in her dreams not making any sense. At the end she was glad when Ahab woke her up in the morning.

He helped her to get up from the bed and wash herself a bit.

"At the village the women will help you to wash properly," he promised her and went on. He also helped her dressing in a long brown tunic and gave her a veil for her hair and put it on her head so it wouldn't fall down. When they had finished she could sit down again and one, to her unknown man came into the room with a wooden plate with some bread and a cup of water – her breakfast.

Menari ate it in silence and with what seemed to her incredible slowness. After half the amount of bread she already was full and couldn't eat more. Ahab told her to eat since they wouldn't be able to stop so often during the trip, she would need the energy. But she couldn't. If she ate more she would probably throw up and that wouldn't be helpful either. At least Ahab realized that she drunk enough.

Altaïr came into the room then.

"Are you ready?" he asked and looked from Menari to Ahab who nodded. He took a step forward to her sitting on the bed. Then to her surprise he bent down a bit and simply picked her up to carry her on his arms. She blushed.

'Dammit! This is the wrong moment to blush, little one!' her inner voices said all together. Luckily Altaïr seemed not to have noticed it or he was just not caring since he said nothing to it and his face gave nothing away.

He carried her out of the room and Menari saw what the rest of the Bureau was like. And she saw the third man whom she had only heard before – and once seen as he had brought her this morning's breakfast. He had a long brown cloak and a white hood just as the other two. He seemed older than both Altaïr and Ahab.

"Menari, I wish you a nice journey," Ahab said and she turned her head towards him and thanked him for everything.

"I would probably be dead by now if you didn't do such a good job in healing my injuries," she said and looked down. Her cheeks blushed a bit. He laughed.

"It was my pleasure to meet you." And he bowed a bit before her.

Now the older man made himself known.

"My dear, please don't be afraid," he started and came towards them, "we have to blindfold you. It is safer for all of us if you don't know where you are here." She looked up at Altaïr who gave her a small reassuring nod. The older man blindfolded her with so much caution. The fold was neither too loose but nor did it hurt her. A very wrong thought came to her mind. If she lived through this she should probably choose to live with the assassins if all of them were that cautious, gentle and kind.

'First we should live, little one,' said the voice of rationality.

Menari was carried somewhere and got a clue that they must have been outside sometime since she was able to hear voices and the familiar city noise. There was also a horse nearby and she could hear it snorting. Then the blindfold suddenly was gone and they stood in a street she knew. Altaïr had her still in his arms and next to them stood a dark brown horse. He lifted her a bit more and helped her to sit on the horse's back. She was a bit unsure at first but realized then that it was not too bad to sit there. The animal seemed to notice her insecurity and became very still and slow in its motions.

While sitting on the animal, Menari had the chance to take a look at Altaïr. He did not wear his assassin clothing but a brown cloak with a brown hood. He looked nearly ordinary if there hadn't been some bulges in the cloak, probably because of his weapons. She was not sure whether the guards would recognize this as well. At least she hoped they wouldn't.

Altaïr grabbed the horse's reins and made a small sound. The horse started to walk carefully because of its uneasy rider. They made their way through the streets of Damascus without any encounters or incidents. They seemed as ordinary as everyone else to the people. Nevertheless the nearer they came to the gates the more nervous Menari became. Altaïr recognized this and squeezed her leg a bit to make her less nervous as she assumed. He was right of course. Everything would be fine and she should concentrate more on sitting securely on the horse.

Right before the gates there was a huge crowd of people all waiting to pass the gates. Menari could see it from her higher position on the horse – the guards were looking into each face and seemed to take notes on the people. She swallowed hard and looked down at her silent companion. He seemed so relaxed and sure that this would work and she so much wished to see it the same way but couldn't. They _had_ to see that she was too nervous for an innocent person. Not to mention his whole person was kind of making distrust grow. That moment he looked up at her and smiled lightly. She must have been looking like she was about to run away and be able to develop an unknown speed with her broken leg because he grabbed her hand lightly and tried to pull her down a bit so he could speak.

"Don't be afraid," he whispered into her ear, "It WILL work, just trust me, trust us and our plan, will you?"

She nodded and swallowed some of her fears. He was right after all, she just had to act normal and trust that it would work. Her nervousness would fade away and the guards would believe her that she was Fatima and on her way to her home village with her brother Omar.

'Just believe,' she said to herself like a mantra and while concentrating on this, she didn't notice how close they came to the gates. In front of them was an old man. At first she didn't notice but when Altaïr turned the horse so the gates were in its back and the screaming started she knew that something must have happened.

"Please, I've done nothing wrong," said a male and old voice.

"Thief! Did you think you could fool us? I'll have your hand for this!" came the voice of a guard, probably.

She wanted to turn around to see what was happening but Altaïr grabbed her leg and shock his head at her. A scream of pain came from behind her and made her shudder. The hold on her leg straightened and she felt him becoming tense. What were they doing? Again she wished to see it but wasn't able to. He intensely looked at her until the screaming had stopped and the people around started to move again. The horse turned around again and they walked on to the gates.

--

The guards looked at them suspiciously as Altaïr explained the reason for their journey.

"What did you say were your names?" one asked.

"I'm Omar and this is my sister Fatima," Ataïr calmly replied.

She noticed the look of one guard on her. It wasn't a normal look, he more or less checked her out.

"Why does your sister not get down from the horse?" the note taking one asked, "You know we have to check who is getting out of the city and would probably have a better look at her if she got down." The other men chuckled lightly. Those perverts!

"I'm afraid this won't be possible," Altaïr said calmly although Menari thought, she could feel his disgust and want to slay them right in this instant, "Her leg is broken and it already took us long to get her on the horse. It would be better for her leg if she remained sitting on the horse, if you don't mind."

"A broken leg? What did you do to her?" again they laughed. What did they think her own 'brother' _would_ do with her?

"Nothing. She is just a bit clumsy sometimes and fell from a ladder at our hostel here." Luckily she blushed a bit in this moment and looked on her hands. Actually it wasn't blush but she more turned red from anger at the guards. How could they?

"Well, okay. I think you can pass," a guard finally said, "But you should look after your sister better. It would be a shame if other accidents destroyed _important_ parts of her body."

"I will," Altaïr said and simply led them through the gate – saying nothing and just looking ahead of them until they had reached a point far enough from the gates.

He took a deep breath. "Those bastards," he said silently but still angry. She remained silent.

Still making a very angry face he gave the horse a sign and they moved on, with him still walking and Menari wondered if they were going to go all the way to the mysterious village like this. It would take them weeks to get there like this. Well, she didn't know where the village was but still this was a very slow way to travel, wasn't it? Suddenly they stopped again and she was pulled from her thoughts.

"Remain still", he ordered while grabbing the saddle, "I don't want you to fall down."

He climbed onto the horse in one swift movement and settled himself behind her shocked form. Then he reached for the reins in front of her with his left hand and held her to him with his other.

She blushed – of course! What else could she do when she was pressed against a man's chest like this? Being glad that she couldn't see it right now she just starred on his hand which held the reins.

Wait! Did she see it right? His left hand… there was a finger missing!

Changing his hands' positions the object of her investigation turned out of sight, well, not totally but it would have been too obvious to stare at his left hand now. And she didn't want to get caught staring. Maybe she just had imagined it.

Altaïr lightly kicked the horse with his hoes and the animal started to move. Slow at first because there were still people in front of them on the path and they couldn't get through them with full speed without being recognized and maybe even suspected for some crime. It was not necessary to come in such a situation right now. He wouldn't be able to fight the same way he did alone because he still had to protect her. Menari's fate was in his hands – at least as long as they were travelling to Masyaf.


	4. The past

Disclaimer: I do not own Altaïr or any of the original AC characters, same goes to the original story as well. I do not make money by writing this.

Hello there my dear readers!

I'm sorry for taking so long to go on writing. I was facing some problems. -.- Firstly my PC, then my exams for this semester, then my PC again, Breaking Dawn arrived, writer's block followed (okay, actually I had one all the time due to the exams and everything -.-) and well today, when I was on the train I finally had some time and ideas to go on. So here it is, chapter 4 :)

Please excuse my typing mistakes. I again read it 5 times or so and I never find all of them. My fingers are just too fast I guess :")

So this chapter is again with a lot of talking. I promise that there will be more action next time. It just is important for the ongoing story to know these things. Oh, and if you cannot stand reading about people being raped, please don't read chapter 4. I put it as mild and "un-detailed" as it was possible for me. It also isn't such a long passage but it had to be said... Oh! o.o And I just recognized that this is my very first scene involving sex EVER! (I wanted to say: The very first published scene I every wrote. I do have some lemon-files on my PC but no one has every read them. So be proud that you are the first ones :) ) Wow...

Last thing before the chapter: Thanks again for the reviews I got! Made me really happy again!

Enough chatting!

greetings,

Lysella Abelina

PS: Wish me luck and for those who know German: Drückt mir die Daumen! I have the practical test for my driving license tomorrow!! O.O

* * *

Their journey went uneventfully. At least on the first day. After having managed to get the crowd of people, streaming out of Damascus, behind them, Altaïr pushed the horse to a faster pace and they quickly were alone on their way. Now and then they would pass a watching tower but always without being stopped or even shot. They would not talk but remain silent the whole time - he deep in thoughts and still paying attention to the way and she recognizing how little she actually had known about the world. Even simple bushes and trees seemed so new and unfamiliar although she's been living in this country. But beggars usually didn't have the chance to get to know the world. In the past she had been happy to survive one more day without being killed or even worse – raped. This had been her life – struggling to make it to through one day to reach the next – and now so much had changed within such a short period of time. How? Was there really something higher which controlled humankind? Or was this all just coincidence? Menari started to doubt her former believes now.

'Believes', she had to laughed at her own thoughts, 'You cannot really call those ones believes, can you? More false hopes and lies…' Well, maybe not. One thing was true: she was alive, or wasn't she? And she would probably stay like this a bit longer and with some luck even longer than just this bit. But that was all speculation. The here and now was important at the moment. Speaking of here and now she recognized that it had become darker around them and the sun was about to set. She was just getting used to the view of the sun between the low hills at the horizon, some sharp rises between and a not too high rock face to their left when they suddenly got slower and Altaïr led the horse to a small cave in the rock face. They stopped and he looked around them, probably checking if there was anything near them which could be dangerous.

It was nothing there and he got from the horse back and helped her down as well, which wasn't too easy.

"We will camp here for the night. It can be cold out here and you need a break," was his explanation after sitting her on the ground. The horse stood next to her side and, making Menari's heart nearly stop, lay down. It made a noise which sounded like laughter and she wasn't able to get rid of the feeling that the animal was making fun of her.

"I will get some 'firewood'," he said and went away, leaving a slightly unsure Menari behind. The horse nudged her a bit as if it wanted to show her that she wasn't alone. Maybe this strange animal wasn't as bad as it had behaved before. After all it also had been very still when she had sat unsure on its back.

Short after Altaïr came back with some dead and extremely dry plants' parts in his arms and started to make a fire.

It was getting darker around them as the twilight crawled around, just giving a hint that the night was about to come. The two of them were sitting around the fire and just staring. From time to time he would lay some more firewood into the fire to keep it going. Thanks to the horse at her side, she felt extra warm and was slowly beginning to recognize that it really was getting colder. The city was always so heated from the day that it didn't cool down so much during the night. But here outside in the open land it was different.

"Are you hungry?" he asked suddenly.

"Huh?" was all she could reply since he had caught her off guard. Then she understood. "Oh, well, actually yes, a bit."

He gave her a piece of bread from their food package, she took it and ate it slowly. It was more than dry but they didn't have anything else which would stand the heat. Altaïr also gave her some water.

"When we reach the village", he began, "You will get better food. But for the journey this will have to do it."

Did she hear it right? He apologized for the food?

"You… don't have to apologize", she replied, "Remember? I'm used to the life of a beggar. Getting food without having stolen or begged for it is very new for me."

He had looked at her and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but now closed it again. She still had the water bottle in her hands and gave it back to him now. He reached for it with his left hand and there she saw it again. Stunned she couldn't let go of the view and starred at his hand with the bottle in both of their hands at once. Noticing that she had been staring she immediately dropped her gaze to the ground and her hold of the bottle as well.

"Please excuse… my behavior", she whispered. He simply said nothing to it.

Not just the temperature decreased but also her courage. What would lurk in the dark?

Altaïr seemed to have noticed her thoughts on her face as he spoke, "You don't have to be afraid of something attacking us. The animals out here are more afraid of us then we are of them. The fire also holds them back and the fact that we are three with the horse." She relaxed a bit and yawned. Her eyelids became suddenly very heavy and she simply leaned against the horse next to her and was asleep within minutes. Altaïr stood up and placed a blanket on her.

--

Sleep... she actually welcomed it because of the previous day. It had been after all quite hard for both her body and mind. Due to this she gladly fell asleep to recover some energy but not for long.

Her dream had started what people used to tell 'normal'. She was standing in front of a large house. It was in the middle of the day judging from the sun's stand. She went into the house not knowing what would await her there but still having the feeling that her surrounding seemed quite familiar. The house was large and not just that, no, it was also pompous.

Strangely she knew exactly where she was going. Well, at least she thought it because something was making her go upstairs, ignore the luxurious furnishing, paintings and what ever else there was and just go on upstairs. Finally she reached the end of the stairs and went right. At the end of the corridor there was a door which she opened, hesitantly still but she did. And there she saw and heard it. On the bed lay a whimpering girl, still more a child than a woman, and above her leaned a sweating and dirty laughing man pumping his manhood into her. She cried, screamed and tried to beat him but without success. He just went on and got even faster and more rough at her tries to shake him off. Her body showed blue bruises and bloody scratches.

The blankets were a mess showing that they had been doing this for a while now and there was also blood on one particular sheet. A smaller one. Just some droplets probably but that made it even worse. The rape of a virgin...

And now Menari knew why it all seemed so familiar. It _was_ familiar. The girl being raped just in front of her eyes, her name was Fatima and she had been Menari's best friend at her former master's house. Yes, and he had wanted to rape her for quite a time before he actually did. Just that day when Menari accidentally had opened the door to his private bedroom because it had been her task for the day to clean this room.

Her master moaned one last time before he came, probably again. Menari was about to close the door so he wouldn't see her and rape her as well but then she heard something being slapped and a loud scream from Fatima. He had been slapping her in the face, Menari knew it.

'Shut your dirty mouth!' he shouted at her and punched and slapped her again and again. From behind the door Menari couldn't move. The sound of her friend being tortured like this hurt her as well. Just then Fatima's screaming had turned into a soft whimper. Menari could hear the blankets being moved and someone walking through the room, probably her master searching for his clothing.

'Move your feet,' she told herself. She had to get out of there or her master would do the same to her. But she couldn't move. The picture was in her head, making sure that it would stay there forever.

Her vision became black.

Short after it lightened again and she found herself still in the corridor but heard screams from men and women from outside. It sounded like a fight. The house was under attack!

Menari finally opened the door to her master's chamber to tell him about the attack and maybe get Fatima out there. When she did she stopped, shocked. He was standing there with a dagger in his hands and the sharp part of the dagger in Fatima's stomach. Her face was pale and showed her pain as well as her body by showing several more or less deadly wounds. The master looked up at the intruder.

'What is it?' he barked. But Menari couldn't speak. She just slit down to the ground and couldn't breath. Finally everything became first red and then black...

Endless blackness... nothing else. She could still hear the screams of pain and attack. Then something changed and she also heard someone calling her name. It wasn't her master nor was it someone else from the house. She suddenly felt someone grabbing her roughly by the shoulders and shaking her. Oh no! He would rape her as well! No, this couldn't be it. She struggled more and tried to get out of those strong hands but the grip was viselike.

"Menari, open your eyes," he heard the voice say again. It was a man and he sounded concerned. She did as she was told and slowly opened her eyes to look into a man's face with brown eyes.

"Altaïr," she breathed relieved.

"Everything is alright, Menari, it was just a dream," he tried to sooth her. She had been sleeping so peacefully until suddenly her face had got a painful expression and she had started to whimper. It had taken him almost five minutes to wake her fully.

"Blood... Everywhere... and all those screams...", she stammered. The pictures stayed in her mind and didn't leave her. She knew why she had tried to forget those things from her past. And why did they return to her just now? The timing couldn't be more unpleasant, could it? Altaïr's hand was on her arm and she just looked at her which was still somehow calming her down. After taking a deep breath she finally spoke sense.

"I'm sorry... I-I just had a nightmare. But it's okay now... Just... just give me a minute or so."

He stayed and waited.

"Do you want to talk about it? Maybe it will be easier then," he said after a while. She looked at him, bewildered. He was offering her to talk about her problems? Wow...

"Well, I-I don't know... it might be boring and," she took a deep breath again, "a waste of your time." He was silent.

"As you wish," he said after a while and stood up to get to his former sleeping and watching place across from her. He seemed somehow upset. Had she said something wrong?

_Her_ telling _him_ about her problems _was_ a waste of his time. Nothing would change! No one cared for her, no one! It would be like it had always been. She would survive as long as possible and that was it.

Still she couldn't understand his sad and upset expression. Perhaps he really wanted to help her and not just make fun of her afterwards.

"Do... you really want me... to tell you," she asked anxiously.

"If that would help you? I was raised with the believe that one should rather face their fears then ran away from them. They sooner or later catch up with you anyway." He had a point. Menari had never been one to believe in things which wouldn't happen like being saved or cared for while she knew that she was just nothing to the other people. But she also had never been brave. Maybe she should start with being so now. After one more deep breath she finally started.

Altaïr could see her inner conflict. It was hard to let go of old believes, he knew that. Old habits died hard like the common saying put it. Then there was a change in her face and he was surprised when she started to speak again.

"I can't remember my childhood. At least most of it. My memory starts with me being ten years old or so and what came after that cannot really be called 'childhood'.

"I was kind of forced to grow up and adjust to the life others had chosen for me. I-I used to be a slave." She gave him a quick glance to maybe see a reaction to her words on his face but it gave nothing away. He just looked at her from across the fire.

"Well, the household where I lived, I only remember parts of that as well. At the beginning my... master... seemed quite nice if you can say it like this. Due to my quick adjustment I wasn't punished that often and he always talked to us like we were still humans and not just things to use. There had been others in the household who played out this role. My tasks had been mostly about cleaning, nothing special. And gladly I never had to... assist my master... if you know what I mean.

"When I turned thirteen I think something changed. The master started punishing me for only small things already. He often beat me 'till I was no longer able to move. I didn't understand it back then but I do it now. He punished me for growing up and becoming... a woman..." there was little hesitation in her voice while she spoke. She also didn't look at him but straight into the fire.

"I had a best friend there, her name was Fatima and she had been maybe half a year older, so more or less my age. Our master did punish her the same way as he did it to me but not just that, no. Sometimes he also... touched her like... like a man did touch a woman when he wanted her. Fatima had been confused. Sometimes he was so gentle and patted her shoulders and asked if she was okay and all. And in the next moment he would become furious and yelled at her how she could tempt him like this. That all women were foul and corrupted. That she was some evil demoness straight from hell to make him, a faithful believer in God's word, lose his faith. He didn't say the same things to me but I had an idea that he punished me for the same things.

"Okay, I didn't say it right, she wasn't just confused, no, she was scared. She was scared since she didn't know what to think about the whole thing. She, like every good slave did, firstly searched for the problem within her own personality. Maybe she really was the source and everything was her fault. You never know. And when you are a slave you can't really know _anything_ for sure." Sighing she took a break. Altaïr's face still gave nothing away and she started to worry whether her past had shocked him that much that he couldn't say anything.

"Uhm... I-I can stop here if you don't," she started hesitantly but he interrupted her.

"No, I want to hear it. I'm sorry if I upset you by saying nothing. I was just listening and giving you the opportunity to decide by yourself what you want to tell me and what not." He said politely and smiled a bit.

"Well, I... thank you. Shall I go on then?" He nodded.

"We of course saw the changes in ourselves, you know the... physical changes...a woman's body... I'm sure you know what I mean." She had blushed at her words. Why couldn't she just spit it out? She was a beggar and not some prudish clerical person!

"I do understand what you wanted to say," Altaïr broke her thoughts, "Please, go on." She nodded, actually being thankful for his words.

"As I said we did notice changes and Fatima noticed that she kind of... enjoyed some of the master's touches. But that only made it worse. From the older women within the household we knew about the things happening between a man and a woman. We weren't as stupid as one would think slaves are. Due to this we also knew that our master was the one we belonged to. Also whom our bodies belonged to. If he wanted he could take us whenever he wanted and from what I heard from his room sometimes, well, he also did so. Never with Fatima and me but with others. And I have to say... it... actually didn't sound... that bad as everyone told us. Sorry, if that's a disgusting thought." The last words she just whispered. Judging from the expression on her face, she probably thought that this was something wrong to say. That she was disgusting him. But he knew well that her former life made it hard for her. She had been raised with these believes that every wrong expressed thought would cause punishment.

Slowly he stood up and walked to her side to sit down again there. She looked at him anxiously and as a response he nodded reassuringly. She understood.

"My dream wasn't about all my past but about one special incident. One day I had been told to clean the master's rooms. It was about midday when I had gotten the order. I had been bringing water to the workers outside and was walking back to the house. The day had been somehow strange. The weather was hot, the air sticky and I hadn't seen any animals outside that day. The house had been in the country so there usually were animals outside, just for you to know.

"I remember standing in front of the house and that is also where my dream had started. I went inside and upstairs. My master's rooms had been on the second floor. I had to go upstairs and then turn right, walk down the corridor and at the end was the door to his chambers. In my dream I went exactly that way. As soon as I had reached the door I had opened it... and...there," she swallowed hard, "I saw it." Tears began to build within her eyes.

"He... he was raping her. I said that we had changed physically but we still had been more children than women. He was merciless and she surely didn't enjoy it. There had been blood, everywhere. And on one particular sheet there had been a special kind of blood. She... it... he was not just raping her but had taken her virginity by this. If she had survived, she would never have been able to get over it in her life." She cried. Never she had told anybody about the incident. Altaïr was the very first listener to her story. To the story that had caused her trying desperately to survive and stay virgin until she no longer was able to protect herself. He handed her a piece of clothing to wipe away her tears. She gladly took it.

"At least she didn't have to live with the shame after that. The day had been special in every possible way. It had shattered my sense of trusting people completely. It had taken away my best friend from me. It had shown my what men were able to do. It had ended my life I had had until then. And it had given me my revenge I would probably have wanted after the whole thing." She looked up at him. His face had hardened but she didn't care what he thought or didn't at the moment and just went on.

"I hadn't been able to move, to get away from the scene. I don't no hong long I stayed there like this. Paralyzed. But I heard something then. Screams from the outside. Screams of horror, pain and anger. The house had been under attack. I had taken every ounce of bravery I owned back then to stand up and open the door to my master's chambers again. I had to warn him and I had to get Fatima out there. when I had opened the door again he was standing there, a dagger in hand and holding Fatima with one arm. He had stabbed my best friend with this dagger and when I came in, it currently was in her stomach and her whole body was covered with angry looking wounds, surely inflicted by the same dagger. He had barked at me then why I was intruding but I couldn't speak and just slit down the wall. In my dream I passed out there I think although I remember getting hold on myself again and telling my master about the attack. After that I just ran away, out of the house and into the fields. I saw the attackers but I didn't know who they were. And by now I can't even remember how they looked like. The most important thing for me was that I got away safely. Somehow I also survived the desert but don't ask me how. I came to Damascus after and stayed there until you found me. And that's the story of my life..."

Long silence was what followed Menari's story. Neither of them had anything to say. Menari was trying to get rid of the demons of her past again and Altaïr just thought about what she just had told him. It was indeed not such a nice past and at the thought of her 'master' anger boiled in his veins. There were still so many foul men out there.

At some point he suddenly felt something pressing against his arm and after a look he saw that Menari had fallen asleep with her head resting against his arm.


End file.
